“Netflix today unveiled a new set-top box to be produced by privately held Roku Inc. that will allow subscribers to stream an unlimited number of movies and television shows directly to televisions. The device costs $99. The video content is free to anyone with a Netflix subscription of $8.99 a month or more. Most of the video content will consist of older material, rather than new releases,” Eric Savitz blogs for Barron’s.

“The obvious comparison here is with Apple’s Apple TV box, which costs more, requires paying for movies downloaded from iTunes, but also offers more functionality, like the ability to stream personal music and photo content to your television. Older movies for free? Newer movies for a fee? It’s an interesting choice,” Savitz blogs.

MacDailyNews Take: Yeah, Eric, it would be an interesting choice, if it made any fargin’ sense. We must have missed the memo where the definition of “free” was changed from “no cost” to “$99 upfront plus $8.99 per month (base starting price).” The Netflix box also requires users to queue up movies on a computer unlike the Apple TV, which lets users choose content from the comfort of their couches, no computer required.

So, you “save” $129 if you buy the Netflix box instead of an Apple TV, at least until the first year or so of paying at least $8.99 a month goes by. Then, your “savings” go poof, you end up quickly paying much more for much less and, hey, you still can’t play your tunes, see your photos, check out YouTube and podcasts, see any new movies or TV shows, or have the option to purchase content. What a great product!

The fact that Netflix limits their selection of old movies to just weak 480i resolution only adds to the disappointment. Of course, Apple offers new releases, same day as DVD, in 720p HD with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound for Apple TV (hardware is capable of up to 1080i).

I’d prefer to see a little more analysis and a lot less jingoistic cheering for all things Apple.

People who are using Netflix are already paying a monthly subscription fee. (And Netflix already has a huge user base.) For an additional one time payment of $99 they add online delivery of their content.

I’m not sure who gets what kind of advantage here. But I’m very sure that the battle to win consumers to new types of video content delivery devices is moving into high gear.

Of course if you already happen to have a Media Center PC, you can add this for free instead of paying $99. And yes, it is $8.99 a month, but you do get unlimited movies.

But yeah, even I’ll give the nod to an Apple TV here. In the end, though, downloaded movies aren’t my thing. If I’m going to buy (or even rent) a movie, I’d much rather have the media, extras, and box, in the highest quality (Blu-Ray).

If apple announced tomorrow that customers were able to opt in to a “all you can eat” subscription program for 8.99 a month via apple TV I would be all over it. My family watches A LOT of movies. We rent them in HD when that option is available, but we do not mind watching them in “near DVD” quality. I honestly think this Netflix box is a great idea, and I agree with a lot of the gizmodo article. I love my apple tv, but it is getting rather costly (60-80$/month). I was doing the whole netflix rip and watch later but I prefer to be legal rather than in a grey area. What I am getting at here is that sure the technology is a bit behind, and sure the movies are older, BUT I would use this product a lot and I think that many other consumers would/will do the same.